In knitting without tears the 36-stitch mitten EZ says, “Now you are ready for the thumb itself, for which you prepare by the performance of a neat trick. With about 8” of contrasting wool, knit 7 stitches where you want the thumb to start, which may be one or two stitches away from the first purl stitch. Put these 7 stitches back on the left needle, and continue working as if nothing had occurred, for 25 more rounds, or to the tip of the little finger." How
do I knit these 7 stitches and put them on the left needle? I’m working on 4 dpns. THanks much. Mary
When you get to that point, take some other yarn, scrap yarn, and knit 7 sts. Then slip them back to the L needle and knit them with your mitten yarn. Continue knitting in the round on the hand. When that’s done, carefully take out the scrap yarn and put the sts on your needles. You’ll have a slit with 7 sts below the hole and 6 above the hole. You probably will want to pick up a couple extra sts at the edges of the slit so there won’t be any gaps. If that’s more than you need for the thumb you can dec them to the right number.
The first video shows you how to do this thumb with the scrap yarn. The second one shows you how to knit the thumb once you’ve completed the rest of the mitten or fingerless glove. The proper measurement for average size hands is going to be 2 1/2 inches from the top of the ribbing on the cuff to where you want this thumb slot to be. Knit a lot of mittens this past winter, so I know this is tried and true. Tested on my adult kid “guinea pigs.”
In the video, Kelly purls back on the scrap yarn row. I just slip them back to the left needle like Suzeeq does.
http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/Kelley’s_Mitten_Class_-_Afterthought_Thumb_Set_Up__D203.html
http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/Afterthought_Thumb__D163.html